• These include jen, or "humaneness," I "righteousness," li, or "propriety/ritual," and hsing, or "human nature." Hsiao, or "filial piety," is also an important notion for Confucian youth.
• In ancient India, there were four social classes: Brahmins (priestly people), Kshatriyas (also called Rajanyas), who were rulers, administrators and warriors, Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, traders and farmers), and Shudras (peasants and agricultural laborers) (labouring classes).
• The Indian Caste System is one of the fundamental aspects of social differentiation in India, alongside class, religion, geography, tribe, gender, and language. However, when one or more of these characteristics overlap and become the primary basis for systematic ranking and uneven access to valued resources like money, income, power, and status, it becomes an issue (Sekhon, 39).
  The Indian Caste System is a closed system of stratification, meaning a person's social rank is determined by their birth caste. Other social statuses have constraints on contact and conduct (Sekhon, 39). This country's history is intertwined with Hinduism, and it was shaped by the Buddhist revolt and British control. This article will examine the Indian caste system's hierarchy, history, and current impact on India.

Step-by-step explanation

• Among the most essential of these teachings are jen, which means "humaneness," I which means "righteousness," li, which means "propriety/ritual," and hsing, which means "human nature." Hsiao, also known as "filial piety," is an important idea for young people growing up in the Confucian culture, and it is especially important for them.
• Brahmins
  Brahmins were respected as embodiments of wisdom, gifted with commandments and sermons for all Varnas. They were venerated not just for their Brahmin birth, but also for their sacrifice of material life and development of heavenly attributes. In the Brahmin group were priests, gurus and rishis. They would constantly follow the Brahmacharya (celibacy) vow. They were nicknamed Brahmachari (celibate) even though they were married. However, anybody from any Varna may become a Brahmin by acquiring comprehensive information and cultivating intelligence.
• Brahmins were chosen as instructors for the baby because they symbolize the divine wisdom and the four Varnas. Since ancestral knowledge is maintained via guru-disciple practice, all citizens born in each Varna would stay grounded. Normally, Brahmins embodied happiness and dispelled ignorance, guiding searchers to the pinnacle of absolute knowledge, but they also lived as soldiers, tradesmen, or farmers under difficult situations. Brahma Rishis and Maha Rishis were asked to advise rulers and their countries' governance. A Brahmin man might marry any of the first three Varnas, but marrying a Shudra woman deprived him of his priestly rank. A Shudra lady would be accepted if the Brahmin agreed.
• Contrary to common assumption, Brahmin women were more venerated for their purity and treated with unmatched respect by their spouses. According to Manu Smriti, a Brahmin lady may only marry another Brahmin, although she is free to pick the male. She may marry a Kshatriya or a Vaishya under exceptional circumstances, but marrying a Shudra is prohibited. Inter-caste marriages are restricted to prevent later impurity in the children of the marriages. A man from one caste marrying a lady from a higher caste is deemed an erroneous union that would result in ignoble progeny.
• Kshatriyas
  The warrior clan, the kings, the rulers of territory, the administrators, and so on were all composed of Kshatriyas. It was essential for a Kshatriya to be well-versed in weapons, warfare, penance, austerity, administration, moral behavior, justice, and rule before he could be considered fully qualified. From a young age, all Kshatriyas were taken to a Brahmin's ashram where they would be educated until they were fully equipped with the necessary knowledge. In addition to practicing austerities like the Brahmins, they would learn extra administrative expertise
•  They were under a fundamental obligation to protect their territory, defend themselves against attacks, deliver justice, govern virtuously, and extend peace and happiness to all of their subjects, and they would seek advice from their Brahmin gurus on matters of territorial sovereignty and ethical dilemmas. They were given permission to marry a lady from any Varna if both parties agreed. It was not uncommon for Shudra women to marry men from the Kshatriya or Brahmin castes, even though such marriages were discouraged by the Hindu tradition.
• They, like their male counterparts, were equipped with masculine disciplines, were well-versed in battle, had the authority to fulfill responsibilities in the absence of the monarch, and were well-versed in the affairs of the kingdom. Kshatriya women were no exception. A Kshatriya lady was not only capable of protecting a kingdom in times of crisis, but she was also capable of teaching military skills to her offspring. This was contrary to common thought. The purity of a Kshatriya king's lineage was maintained in order to ensure continuity on the throne and the right to claim sovereignty over territory
• Vaishyas
  Agriculturalists, merchants, money lenders, and people concerned in business make up the Vaishya Varna. Vaishyas are also twice-born and attend the Brahmins' ashram to learn the rules of virtuous living and to avoid intentional or unintentional misconduct. Cattle husbandry was one of the Vaishyas' most prestigious jobs, since the quantity and quality of a kingdom's cows, elephants, and horses, as well as their care, influenced the residents' quality of life and wealth. Vaishyas would work closely with the kingdom's authorities to debate, execute, and continually improve living conditions by giving lucrative commercial opportunities.
•  Because their daily activities expose people to items of rapid enjoyment, their proclivity to disregard the law and detest the vulnerable is assumed. As a result, the Kshatriya ruler would be preoccupied with addressing issues arising from Vaishya wars. Vaishya women, like their husbands, helped them in business, cattle raising, and agriculture, and shared the load of labour. They had the same freedom to pick a mate among the four Varnas, albeit choosing a Shudra was fiercely rejected. Vaishya women were legally protected, and remarriage was unquestionably common, just as it was in the other three Varnas. In the event of her husband's untimely death, a Vaishya woman had equal rights to ancestral estates, and she would be equally responsible for the rearing of her children with help from her husband.
• Shudras
  The last Varna symbolizes the backbone of a flourishing economy, and they are valued for their obedient performance of life's responsibilities. Scholarly perspectives on Shudras are the most diverse, owing to the fact that their behavior seems to be more restricted. The Atharva Veda, on the other hand, enables Shudras to hear and memorize the Vedas by memory, and the Mahabharata, too, encourages Shudras to join ashrams and study the Vedas. However, becoming officiating priests in kingly sacrifices was prohibited to a significant extent. Because Shudras are not twice-born, they are exempt from wearing the holy thread like the other Varnas. A Shudra male could only marry another Shudra, while a Shudra woman might marry from any of the four Varnas.
• Shudras would work in the ashrams of Brahmins, Kshatriyas in the palaces and royal camps of Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas in the commercial operations of Vaishyas. Despite the fact that they are the feet of the primal entity, knowledgeable people of higher Varnas would always view them as an important part of society, since an ordered society would be readily jeopardized if the feet were weak. Shudras, on the other hand, followed their lords' commands because they knew they may achieve moksha by doing their allotted chores, which motivated them to be loyal. Shudra women, too, served as the queen's attendants and intimate companions, and would accompany her to neighboring countries after marriage. Many Shudras were also permitted to work as farmers, merchants, and in Vaishya vocations. However, these deviations from life responsibilities would only occur under exceptional circumstances, such as when a person detects worsening economic conditions. The Shudras' selflessness earns them unrivaled admiration and esteem.
• Repulsion, hierarchy, and hereditary specialty are the three factors that make up the concept of caste.
  The system of hereditary specialization described by Velassery may be found in societies that are organized into a large number of hereditarily specialized groups that are hierarchically superposed and mutually antagonistic in nature. The notion of advancing in rank and changing employment is not tolerated by this organization (2). In the Indian caste system, there are several norms that caste members must follow in order to avoid being ostracized by their fellow caste members or, according to Hinduism, being born into a less fortunate family in their future life. 
• The endogamy and occupational limitation that characterize the Indian caste system are the two most essential elements of the system. Members of a caste or subcaste are expected to marry within their own caste or sub-caste in order to maintain their status. Any transgression of this will result in excommunication from one's family and caste, as well as from society. It is mandatory for every caste to be connected with a certain profession, and members of the caste must obey the rules of that occupation. The fact that every caste has limitations on its members' diets and has its own rules governing their eating habits is another distinguishing feature of the society. There are two sorts of food: Pacca, which is food produced with ghee (melted butter), and Kachcha, which is food prepared with water. Pacca is a form of cuisine prepared with ghee (melted butter) (Pyakurel). In accordance with the caste system, only certain types of foods may be traded between different classes. For example, a Brahman can only receive Pacca food from a Shudra, but Kachcha food can only be accepted from a person of the same caste or a higher caste than the one who is being served (Pyakurel).
• Another aspect is the social contact that takes place between castes. When it comes to the mingling of a higher caste with a lower caste, there are rigorous rules in place. As a result, within the caste system, every caste adheres to well-established conventions and well defined standards of interpersonal contact with others.
  A fourth concept is the belief in the cleanliness and contamination of the environment. A very important value in Hinduism is cleanliness, and the caste system is designed to reinforce this belief. Because of this exclusivism, untouchability served as a social technique that only became religious once it was brought into the pollution-purity complex (Velssasery, 8). Because of this, it was assumed that upper castes were more pure and less contaminated, whilst lower castes were considered to be less pure and more polluted (Pyakurel). The limitation of caste mobility, as was previously discussed, is a final trait that is very significant in the stability of the Indian caste system and should not be overlooked. Birth into a certain caste binds a person to that caste for the remainder of his or her life and limits an individual's mobility up or down the social ladder (Pyakurel).
  The caste system in the Indian hamlet had a significant influence on the economic structure of the community. The village was primarily a food-provisioning entity, with each family of the artisan or service caste being tied to one or more members of the land-owning-farmer-caste family by marriage or other means. This method was known as the jajmani system, and it was in use in India until the advent of the British in the 16th century. In his Hindu Jajmani System, W.H. Wiser illustrates the mutuality of relationships in a village community based on the trade of products and services between various castes, as shown by W.H. Wiser (Velassery, 7). "There were twenty-four castes fixed by birth—priest and teacher, bard and geologist, accountant, goldsmith, florist, vegetable grower, rice grower, carpenter, ironworker, barber, water-bearer, sheepherder, grain parcher, seamster, potter trademan, oil-presser, washerman, mat-maker, leather worker, sweeper and cess pool cleaner," Wiser discovered in the village where he conducted his research. "Mohammed (Velassery, 7).
• Each person had a predetermined economic and social position in society. Even a beggar, for example, had a definite social rank in the community. Giving alms to the beggar was seen as a religious obligation, and as such, it may be expected as a matter of right, and each employee was thought to be linked to the others in the employed-employer connection.
  Essentially, the same person who was an employer in one relationship was also an employee in another one, and so on (Velassery, 7). Clearly, as seen by the preceding list of caste differences, village life was dependent on the web of economic stability and security that was supplied by each person's specific caste, as well as by the ties that individual had developed via his or her employment. The caste system is the driving force behind these interactions, and these relationships are one of the reasons the caste system has survived for centuries.
• Generally speaking, Hindus and Muslims have been the targets of religious violence in India.

A sporadic and sometimes serious outbreak of religious violence continues to occur in India despite the country's secular and religiously tolerant constitution, widespread religious representation in various aspects of society, including government, an active role played by autonomous bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission of India and the National Commission for Minorities, and ground-level work being done by non-governmental organizations. The root causes of religious violence include:

International human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as domestic organizations, publish reports on instances of religious violence in India, alongside domestic organizations. From 2005 to 2009, an average of 130 individuals died per year as a result of community violence, or around 0.01 fatalities per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the United Nations Development Programme. During that five-year period, the state of Maharashtra recorded the greatest total number of religious violence-related deaths, whereas the state of Madhya Pradesh had the highest mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants each year between 2005 and 2009. [9] The death toll from riots due to religious violence increased to 97 individuals throughout India over the course of 2012. [10]

When it comes to oppressing religious minorities, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has classed India as Tier-2, along with Iraq and Egypt. In a 2018 study, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) accused Hindu nationalist organizations of waging a campaign to "Saffronize" India via violence, intimidation, and harassment towards non-Hindus.  The enforcement of anti-conversion and anti-cow slaughter laws against non-Hindus, as well as mobs engaged in violence against Muslims whose families have been in the dairy, leather, or beef trades for generations, and against Christians for proselytizing, was found to be approximately one-third of state governments. In 2017, "cow protection" lynch mobs were responsible for the deaths of at least ten people.

According to many historians, religious violence in independent India is a legacy of the policy of divide and rule that was implemented by British colonial authorities during the period of British control over the Indian subcontinent, in which local administrators pitted Hindus and Muslims against one another, a tactic that eventually culminated in the partition of India in 1947.